A Stocking for Allie...

There's a new baby in our home this year and as previously stated HERE a stocking arrived just in time to hang next to her sister's. This was Allie's first Christmas present lovingly handmade by my sweet Great Aunt Jean (Allie's Great Great Aunt Jean).

A few favorites {baby edition}

As a mom, you start to pick up on things that make motherhood just a little bit easier and possibly more manageable. Since I appreciate it when others say, "Take Note!" here are a few of my favorites for the baby/young child stage.

I had no idea how much I would appreciate this gift when it was given back before Reese arrived. There's nothing to sanitize, no clothes have to be removed and instantly you can know what your baby's temp is. It is a little on the pricey side but in my opinion so worth it! 

Diaper rash be gone! This stuff is incredible. Who needs Desitin when you can have Aquaphor? No funny smell, goes on clear and literally works after one application. AND you don't have to be a mom to appreciate the perks! I use it all the time for my dry lips. Aquaphor, where have you been all my life? Thanks to my friend Kelly for pointing me to this life-changing stuff!

Especially when on the go, feeding times have the potential to be messy, require lots of "extra's" added to your diaper bag and then leave you needing your kitchen sink to clean up. Not with this amazing contraption made by Boon called the "Squirt." I'm considering getting another one when Allie starts on solids so that I can have one filled with her vegetables and the other fruit. My friend Yesenia introduced this to me and it's one of my favorite baby doo-dads!

Love, love, love my Vera Bradley diaper bag! It's definitely more on the "nice to have" list of things and less of a necessity. This was a gift from my grandmother and I love thinking about her when I use it. It's the perfect size for having two little ones, wipes clean on the inside and can be thrown in the wash if necessary.

Yes, I'm one of "those" moms! Again, not really necessary but I really prefer putting a warm wipe on my baby's bottom compared to a cold, startling one! This was a hand-me-down, otherwise I probably would never have thought to use it but I seriously won't go back! As long as you rinse out the pad weekly that keeps the wipes wet, you're good to go.

I don't know what we'd do without this guy! Since we have babies so close together, this is Allie's crib for the foreseeable future. The fact that it has wheels is the cherry on top. I take it to and from the girls' bedroom for when it's Allie's bedtime out in the living room.

As a nursing mom with a very young older child, I am so so grateful for Baby Einstein! Reese is learning her numbers, shapes, animals and the sounds those animals make from these videos while I take care of Allie. It's definitely monitored with how much she sees but I'm thankful for the distraction when I can't be everywhere at once.

Finally, these are probably my most favorite clothing item for the girls...Robeez shoes! A friend from church let us borrow a pair when Reese was just learning how to walk and now I don't put anything else on her (well except for church shoes). They're soft, genuine leather and allow baby's feet to grip the floor as they toddle around. Reese is well beyond that stage but they are still the best because of how easy they are to put on and she can't take them off! :)

Girls 'N Costumes

Celebrating Reformation Day this year was simple and sweet! We went the day before to Smart and Final to pick out our pumpkin {we plan to go to the pumpkin patch...it just didn't work out to go before October 31} and mom borrowed a costume from some friends for Reese to use. Dad is our official pumpkin carver...he went so far as to get a kit from Walmart...and he let me choose which face to cut out.

Reese thought it was the CooLest thing to sit in the kitchen next to her daddy and play while he worked. Normally the kitchen is off-limits so to get in on the fun and to pretend she had things to do was just oh so cute!

So fun to compare...

Such a booger! She wasn't the happiest to oblige mom for a picture.

But still...probably the cutest little dinosaur you'll see!

Here's one for her wedding slideshow one day. Hehe! 

I couldn't resist.

And our sweet little pumpkin. It's so amazing to look back on the pictures from last year with Reese in this same outfit, not knowing that our Allie treasure was growing inside me. God's plans are higher and more wise than our own! I'm thankful for that promise.

Reese girl last year.

God's grace in my life...

Today was one of those days you wish you could just freeze in time. Where every minute was really an hour and it went on from there. I miss my best {girl} friend more than words can say! We've been the dearest of friends for 17 years with incredible memories from my 10th birthday slumber party, work crew girls and leadership trainees at Solid Rock Bible Camp, our first crushes, Katy being on the JV basketball team, the two of us leading worship for High School youth group, singing for the Christmas program together, learning to drive stick-shift before we could get our licenses, figuring out how to avoid a certain guy interested in her, planning Katy's sweet 16th surprise birthday party {successfully without her having a clue}, football games, going to Junior prom together, being the one a few years later to sell that same guy her engagement ring and finally standing next to her as the best friend status went from me to her husband. 

The Lord chose to take Katy and Tyler away from Alaska, right after their wedding, to Idaho where Tyler became stationed in the Air Force. Four years later, they were assigned orders to Italy where they are living currently. Our visits have been short and sweet ever since but I praise the Lord that despite the long distance for 9 years, we've still stayed close and managed to see one another.

Today felt like we'd never been apart. Sure there was much to catch up on, things to fill each other in about and even for us to meet each other's girls! {She had both my daughter's to meet and I hadn't yet been able to see and love on Danielle, her baby girl born in June} But the closeness hasn't changed, the love, memories, and dearness of being precious friends to each other hasn't altered. God is so kind to give us friends on this earth that paint a dim picture of what glorified relationships will be like in Heaven. Katy is that friendship to me.

These are pictures from two years ago when we saw each other in Palm Springs. I was still pregnant with Reese and Kiarra was 4 months old.

And today...

Love this last "cheek to cheek" picture...our tradition!

Tyler...you're doing an awesome job as the husband to Katy and daddy to two beautiful girls! Thank you for taking such good care of my dearest friend.

All God's richest blessings to you, Tyler, Katy, Kiarra and Danielle! Thank you for traveling 2 hours to meet up and bless us with on an incredible day in San Pedro! We love you!

Starting to Realize...

...that I have a fascination with dots! Dots on my dishes, mixing bowls, the table runner and even on my blog! I especially like it when they're raised or "bumpy." I just can't seem to get enough of them and so I thought I'd share.

Back when Allie was still on the inside!

Life these days...

Oh to have more than 24 hours in a day. There just isn't enough time to do everything I would like to and on top of that blog! I don't like getting behind but this season in life leaves me no choice. So instead, I remind myself that the most important things right now are to serve and take care of my family and if it so happens that the girls decide to take a nap at the SAME TIME then I will blog. Amazing how the little things like simultaneous naps are HuGe to us mommas! :)

Allie Girl:

3 months! Can't believe she's turning into a "baby" and gone are the newborn days. I wonder if it goes faster the more kids you have. Seems to be that way for me.

~ Still HATES the car! There are times where she doesn't cry for a section of the trip and I love every second of it and hold my breath thinking the wails will come at any minute. Our prayer is that even THIS week she'll adjust. We have some bigger drives coming up (2 hours away) and it would be so so nice to not have to endure her cries.

~ Loves mom! She's already starting to show who her favorite is...doesn't matter if it's daddy, grandparents, best friends or nursery workers. As soon as she realizes it's not mom, she let's that person have an ear-full.

~ She laughed for the first time on Sunday. I'm not sure what was so funny but it made me laugh too.

~Learning how to sit in the Bumbo seat. Yay! And can't believe it's time to have that out already.

~Smiles and coos constantly! Except for the car, being tired or hungry...she's such a happy girl! We love this about our Allie.

~ 13.4 lbs and 24 1/2 inches long! Whew! My arms are getting a much better workout this time around. That puts her in the 77% for weight and 88% for height! Reese still isn't out of the 20th percentile!

Reesie Roo:

Getting so so OLD! We tell her constantly what a big girl she is! She's developing quite the personality and just this past week when over at the grandparents we realized she knows how to show off! Caught Matt and I completely off guard!

~ New words: Off, pants, star, light, "all done Mama", "bye bye Mama", cheer-os (cheerios), nack (snack), nuts, show (for wanting to watch Baby Einstein), cup, milk and water (though I'm not sure how to type out how she says it)

~"Aggie" is the official way for her to say Allie. I'm afraid it's sticking...even for Matt and I. As soon as she's awake in the morning the question is, "Where's Aggie?" Allie is so much prettier so I tend to remind Matt that Allie is her real {and beautiful} name!

~ Reese is in LOVE with Papa! As soon as we start praying, whether for mealtimes or nap/bedtime, she asks us to pray for Papa. She'll ask where Papa is, gets so excited when we go to his house and gets the biggest thrill when he and Marmee come to babysit.

~ Now has all four of her eye teeth in! Thank you Lord!!! This would bring the count to 16. The last 4 to come will be her 2 year old molars and hopefully we've got some time before those arrive. Yay! Teething is just about done for this little one.

~ Still fits size 12-18 month clothes and weighs 22 lbs. She's quite the little featherweight!

~ Becoming much more socially aware! She loves to see the neighbor kids outside playing and yells as loud as she can "HI!!!!" to get their attention!

Update on the parents:

~ Matt is pursuing his Master's degree! He's about half way through because of doing the credential program through TMC and Lord willing, if all goes as planned, he will graduate May 2014!

~ He's also teaching AP US History for the first time this fall to 12th grade and doing a great job! It's a lot of work but he's enjoying teaching to an older audience.

~ Matt is allowing me to work out 4 times a week at LA Fitness by watching the girls! This has been the biggest blessing as I get the chance to be by myself and do something productive to get the baby weight off! I'm so thankful for the breaks and am starting to see fruit from my labor.

~And last but certainly not least...my very BEST friend from growing up is coming to LA next week! All the way from Italy! I haven't seen her since I was pregnant with Reese and her daughter Kiarra was 4 months old. To say that I'm excited is an understatement! Since then we've had 4 girls between the two of us...we've got a lot of catching up to do. I plan to blog about it once our visit it over. Stay tuned!